A member of a group critical of the city of Gatlinburg's response to the Nov. 28 fires has filed a complaint against the town's mayor, saying she feels threatened by a message that appeared on his Facebook page about her.
Gatlinburg police received the incident report from Darlene Verito on Aug. 19.
According to town spokeswoman Marci Claude, "Police Chief Randy Brackins reports that the matter is under investigation."
According to the incident report, Verito went to the police department the morning of Aug. 19 to file the complaint.
She said she'd been alerted the day before that Mayor Mike Werner had posted an image with a superimposed picture of her.
The original image depicted the back of a shirt Verito had worn featuring Werner's photo and a message calling for his removal from office. The image on Werner's Facebook page showed Verito's face instead of his on the back of the shirt along with this statement: "Everyone is so sick of the 7 wildfire victims."
Verito submitted a handwritten statement to police that said in part, "I feel threatened by him and that he is sending the message out that as a political commissioner and mayor it is OK to attack anyone who speaks out."
She added: "He mentioned 7 survivors yet it is only my picture."
Verito said the message subsequently was removed from Werner's Facebook page.
She provided a copy of the image.
10News has obtained the incident report, a copy of her statement and a copy of the image.
Verito is among a group that has criticized how town officials responded to the Nov. 28, 2016, wildfire disaster that resulted in the deaths of 14 people and caused estimated damage of nearly $1 billion.
Some members of the group including Verito have appeared at Gatlinburg City Commission meetings, questioning officials. The confrontations have resulted in some tense moments and raised voices.
10News has reached out for comment to Werner, who was among the many who lost his home in the disaster.
